


A New Heart

by GoodGrammaritan



Category: Emelan - Tamora Pierce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27248566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodGrammaritan/pseuds/GoodGrammaritan
Summary: Post "Will of the Empress," set in the month or so before Tris heads to Lightsbridge. Sibling love and solidarity.
Relationships: Daja Kisubo/Osprey, Trisana Chandler & Daja Kisubo & Briar Moss & Sandrilene fa Toren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

“Daja, will you call Tris for supper? These dumplings are done.” Briar opened the oven and attempted to remove the tray. “Ouch!”

Daja shoved him out of the way. “Daft,” she remarked, taking the tray out herself. “Where are those oven mitts Sandry made you?”

Briar sucked on his fingers. “Dunno,” he said. “But I couldn’t leave the dumplings any longer, they’d burn!”

Daja rolled her eyes. “Of all the dumb brothers. I can finish this, _you_ call Tris.”

“Remind me why we have rules for when we can and can’t talk mind-to-mind?” Briar asked idly, heading for the stairs.

“I believe someone said something about the ‘never-ending gabbling of girls who can never leave a man any peace and quiet,’” Daja called after him.

 _Whyever did Daja buy a house with three stories?_ Briar wondered idly. _And of course Tris insists on being at the top_.

“Tris,” he called, knocking on her door. “Suppertime. It’s the dumplings with fresh basil and sage, and a chicken stew that’s been brewing all day.”

There was no answer.

“Tris?”

He heard a scrabbling noise, and the knob turned. A shimmery glass head poked out.

“Hello, Chime,” Briar greeted the dragon, stroking her with a finger. “Can I come in?”

The dragon made her purring noise and nudged the door open wider. Briar stepped in cautiously.

Tris was lying on her bed, curled into a ball with her back to the door. A wool blanket made by Sandry obscured all but the top of her head.

Briar didn’t come any closer. “When did Chime learn to open doors?”

The lump on the bed shrugged. “Two days ago, maybe?” Tris’s voice was muffled and thick.

“I’d better set more wards on my workshop, then.” Chime wove herself between Briar’s legs, the picture of innocence. “Yes, you’re sweet now, but I remember what happened when you got into my Must-Sleep.” The dragon herself had been immune to the powerful concoction, but her paws and snout had dripped the stuff into a batch of cookies Tris had been making. Daja, passing by on the way to her forge, had pinched a bit of raw dough for a snack, and was thoroughly surprised when Tris smacked her in the face shouting, “Do you want to be asleep for _weeks_?!?”

Briar thought he heard a watery chuckle from the bed, as if Tris were remembering, too. He stepped closer. “You all right, Coppercurls?”

“I’m not hungry.”

Briar nodded, even though she wasn’t looking. “I’ll save a plate in the coldbox if you want it later,” he told her. Disentangling himself from Chime, he left and shut the door behind him.

“She says she’s not hungry,” he told Daja softly when he reentered the kitchen.

“Is she sick?”

Briar shook his head. “I don’t think so…”

“Briar.”

“She’s sad. But I don’t know why.”

Daja’s voice was gentle. “Leave her be, for now. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.”


	2. Chapter 2

Daja looked with dismay at the mess in front of her. She’d been so wrapped up in her latest project (a living brass thumb) she’d forgotten to remove her boots and apron before coming in for midday. Now, the front room was covered in muddy boot prints and soot. Worse, she could sense Tris entering the courtyard. The redhead was a stickler for a neat house, and Daja had no time to clean before the front door opened.

“I’m sorry, I’ll scour the floors as soon as I can!”

Tris didn’t look up or answer.

“I didn’t mean to get it so dirty, I was just so excited that I’d finished the thumb!”

“What?” Tris blinked at Daja, then looked around, noticing the room for the first time. “Oh. That’s fine.”

Daja knew that Tris was never _really_ angry about messes, she knew they happened in the course of a mage’s work, but she usually gave a lecture on _thinking about your housemates_ or how _a little thought beforehand can save a lot of time afterward_.

“Tris?”

But she was already mounting the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

“I’ve made them all fireproof,” Sandry said proudly, indicating the trunks of clothing a burly serving man had brought in. “You can cover yourself in lightning if you want. Even _Daja_ couldn’t destroy these!”

“Wanna bet?” Daja asked.

Sandry flapped a hand at her impatiently. “And there’s no orange, I know you hate wearing orange.”

Tris’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Thank you, Sandry,” she said softly. “I’ll be the toast of Lightsbridge fashion for sure.”

“But you won’t!” Sandry beamed. “There’s a charm you can activate to avoid being noticed, if you want. I know you don’t like being the center of attention.”

“How come you never made anything like that for _me_?” Briar sounded offended.

Sandry cuffed his shoulder. “As if you need any help with that.”

“Thank you, Sandry.” Tris’s eyes started to fill. “That’s so thoughtful.” She placed a hand on one of the trunks, then withdrew it. “I—I need to keep packing.” She rushed out of the room.

Sandry looked at her siblings in alarm. “What’s wrong with Tris?”

“Calm down, we didn’t do anything,” Daja told her. “She’s been a bit down for a couple of weeks, we thought it best to leave her be.”

“Weeks?!?” Sandry gathered her skirts in her fists and headed for the stairs. “Tris!”

Briar and Daja scrambled to follow. Sandry was surprisingly fast when she wanted to be.

“Tris, I’m coming in,” Sandry announced, turning the knob. She gathered a shield of magic ready to spring into place if her sister reacted poorly.

Tris was curled up in the window seat, tears pouring down her face. She looked at Sandry once, then turned away.

Sandry approached her, Daja and Briar a couple of steps behind.

“Tris, what’s wrong?”

Tris shook her head and kept crying. Sandry squeezed into the window seat with her and pulled her sister’s head against her chest. She glared at her siblings until they approached as well.

The four of them stayed there, quiet, for a long time.

As the sun started to set, Tris whispered, “I’m going to miss everyone so much.”

“Oh, Tris,” Sandry said softly. “We’ll miss you, too.”

“We’ll write,” Daja said.

“And we’ll still be able to speak mind-to-mind,” Briar added. “Anytime, don’t worry about bothering me.”

The girls chuckled.

“I know,” Tris said. “But it’s not just you. It’s Glaki and Lark and Little Bear and the duke…”

“We’ve been apart before,” Sandry said. “It’s nothing you can’t do.”

“But I had Niko and Little Bear with me, last time,” Tris said. “Now I’ll be all alone. It’s like leaving a piece of my heart behind.”

 _Second time she’s mentioned Little Bear_ , Daja pointed out privately to Briar and Sandry.

 _I always knew she loved that dog more than us_ , Briar remarked.

 _Stop it_ , Sandry scolded. _She’s hurting and doesn’t know what she’s saying._

 _I think she does,_ Daja said, thinking something over. _You two, meet me at Crane’s greenhouse tomorrow after midday._


	4. Chapter 4

Two days before Tris was to leave for Lightsbridge, she woke up early. She still wasn’t hungry, even after a month of only picking at her food, but she wanted some tea.

As she tiptoed toward the kitchen, her sensitive ears caught a noise from the parlor. She poked her head in. Sandry was there, lying on the sofa and snoring lightly.

This was odd. Sandry had come for Tris’s farewell supper last night. She was supposed to be leaving today to represent her uncle at a conference in Anderran.

_Oh well. Better make two cups, then_ , Tris thought. She set the kettle to boil and began measuring out the morning blend. Satisfied, she turned back to the kitchen. “Oh!”

Briar stood there, looking smug.

“There’s no need to be frightening me out of my wits before it’s even dawn!” Tris scolded.

“I’m just pleased I can still sneak up on you when I need to.”

“And why would you possibly _need_ to sneak up on me?”

_Daja_ , Briar said in all of their minds.

The tall smith walked in the back door, carrying a covered basket on one arm. Her other fist was closed around some small object. “Just finished,” she said.

“Waitwaitwait, don’t start without me!” Sandry rushed in, creases on her face from the sofa cushions.

Bewildered, Tris looked from face to face. “What’s going on?”

“Here,” Daja handed her the object she’d been holding. It was still warm, but pleasantly so.

It was a small medallion with a hole at the top, engraved with the word HEART. On the back was a design of knotted string.

“What is this?”

Daja gently put her basket on the table and peeled back the cover. Inside was a small puppy, fast asleep.

“Osprey found her.” Daja’s grin spread from ear to ear. “She takes in strays like Rosethorn, only she specializes in the kind with fur.”

Tris looked at the tiny creature. It opened its mouth to yawn. As it stretched, Tris noticed something. “She only has three legs!”

“We think it got caught in something. The animal healers did their best to fix it, but in the end it had to come off,” Briar told her. “Not too many folks were interested in adopting her after that.” He scowled. “But she don’t need anyone’s approval but yours.”

“Owm-yowm,” the puppy whined.

“Of course I approve!” Tris put down the medallion. “She’s not broken, and she deserves a home just as much as anyone else!” Tris said hotly. Calming herself, she carefully reached into the basket. “But I wasn’t planning on—I don’t have time for a pet,” she said, cradling the puppy to her chest.

“She’s very slow, and not very active,” Sandry said. “The healers say her breed is typically calm and will likely sleep most of the day.” She reached into a pocket and put a woven collar on the table. It had a pattern of lightning bolts.

Tris smiled. “It’s beautiful. _She’s_ beautiful.”

“I added a charm to all of your clothes to repel dog fur,” Sandry said. “I only finished a few hours ago.”

“I’ve packed you the strongest fleabane I could make,” Briar added. “And I spelled it special so it’s safe for dogs.”

Daja took the medallion off the table and threaded it onto the collar.

“You said you were leaving a piece of your heart behind,” Daja murmured, slipping the collar gently over the pup’s head. “Now you can take a new heart with you when you go.”

**Author's Note:**

> In my headcanon Osprey and Daja are dating. Not mentioned explicitly in this fic, though.


End file.
